Western Australia announces landmark reforms to building laws

As part of the ongoing regulatory reform resulting from the recommendations in the 2018 Building Confidence Report of Professor Peter Shergold AC and Ms Bronwyn Weir, the Western Australian government recently announced landmark reforms to the State’s building laws with new legislation to be drafted to improve the way buildings are designed, certified and constructed. 

The draft legislation will be released for industry and stakeholder consultation on a currently unknown future date and will include:

• the staged implementation of mandatory inspections of new apartment and other commercial buildings at critical stages of construction
• enhancements to building design documentation, including minimum standards, registration requirements for designers, and third-party review of structural and fire safety designs for complex and significant buildings, and
• increases to fine penalties. 

At the same time the draft legislation is released, an Action Plan will also be released setting out the implementation stages and timeline, with the first stage of the reforms due to start in 2026.

We will provide updates as further information on the proposed reforms become available.